The time has come to write your big college essay. Where do you start? What should the essay be about? Here are some tips to help you craft a personal statement that shines.
YOU are the topic of your essay
The essay must be ABOUT YOU. The readers of your application want to get a clear sense of who you are and what you will bring to their college campus. Think about your personality traits, your passions and interests—which ones do you want to highlight in your essay so your readers will advocate for you when the admissions committee makes their decision? Take your time deciding what story to tell.
Topics to avoid
Steer clear of the following: trauma dumping, stories about sports injuries, stories that focus on someone else. Just about any other topic can be explored in a way that communicates some essential truths about yourself to your readers.
Don’t recap your resume
Your essay is not a regurgitation of your resume. You have lots of space on your application to describe your extracurricular and leadership activities. You can explore one of these in your essay, but make sure you are doing more than explaining what you did as president of the Key Club. Maybe you had an epiphany when volunteering or learned some lesson about yourself as you led your team to the state championships. Write the essay about that epiphany or lesson.
Let it flow
Brainstorm a list of essay ideas and then write drafts on at least three different topics. See which one feels exciting to you, which one makes you eager to write more. Don’t delete the others—you might be able to use them for your supplements. Your first drafts can be MESSY. Don’t worry about grammar and sentence structure when you start writing. Focus on getting your ideas down on the paper in your own voice. There will be time to edit and polish.
Simple is best
Keep your writing straightforward. This isn’t the place to try out the words from your SAT flashcards. If you wouldn’t use the word when speaking, don’t write it. The reader wants to hear your voice as much as possible.
Paint a picture
Be specific and use sensory details. Writing comes alive when you can picture a scene, smell the smells and feel the feels. Incorporate vivid descriptions wherever you can.
Relax
Yes, the essay is important. But admissions readers aren’t expecting you to be Shakespeare. They want to get to know the real you and the real you is pretty spectacular.
